Each day a milestone

Well it finally happened, her tooth is starting to come out. It's her lower left front tooth and its razor sharp. She keeps running her tongue over it which I am surprised it hasn't cut it yet. I don't know how long it will take for it to come all the way out but it's on its way. I'm amazed that she hasn't been all that fussy about it either. She's drooling like crazy and enjoys putting the cloth diaper in her moth and chewing on it. Yes it is a clean one, I don't use them for diapers.

I have Alyssa all signed up for her swim lessons that she starts on September 9. She will have those two times a week for 30 min. I am pretty curious to see what kind of things we will be doing. It's a class for 6 months - 3 yrs and introduction to water. I am very excited for that because she loves playing in the bath tub. Although she cried the other night but I think that's because she didn't like the bubble machine I got her. It was pretty loud. I have been trying to find some fun bath toys but I am having a hard time finding any good ones.

I have also bought a great book on sign language and we are going to start trying it. It's going to take a lot of persistence from us but I think if we can stick it out it will be worth it. It's very basic but if we can do it, it will be a great way to start communicating with her before she actually starts talking. From the look of the book that I have it's actually pretty easy to do and easy to remember.

She is also starting to sit up on her own. She can do it for several seconds before getting wobbly and falling over. At least she doesn't get upset when she tips over or hurt yet. She's enjoying building her leg muscles, she loves standing, and I honestly can't wait until I can start chasing her around. OK so I might be saying in a few months that I regret ever saying that! She is also enjoying kicking her legs and especially when she is on a surface where she can make noises. She gets so proud of herself when she does this, it's actually pretty cute.

She adores Harley. She laughs at him and her face lights up whenever he comes around it's the cutest thing ever. The other day Alyssa, Harley and I were all playing on the floor and he brought over his ball and put it next to her. She started playing with it rolling it and he started playing with his chew ring, because if you know him he always carries two toys with him.

Food, Food, Food

I think Alyssa and I are having fun trying out new types of food. Her tasting them and me making them. At this point the front runners are broccoli and applesauce. I don't know which one she likes more but she gobbles them up quick. I've been buying the apple sauce at this point but might try and make it this fall. She also likes her sweet potatoes, sorry dad! One of the bought jars, the turkey dinner, she absolutely hates which I don't blame her it was nasty. She also didn't like the bananas that I mashed up for her but hopefully they will grow on her because I use them a lot. I found this great website that I have been using for ideas and stuff. It's amazing all the different things you can make and how much cheaper it is to use "normal" food instead of the baby food. I added this link to our site as well. It's amazing the things that I have learned on their about food especially the berries. For example that strawberries and blackberries are considered an exotic fruit but not kiwi. And blueberries and cranberries aren't considered to be a "true" berrie which they consider mild to highly allergenic. Anyways it's a great website with lots and lots of info. I have just been taking plain vegetables and pureeing them at this point, I'm going to do spinach and carrots next. I will have to try some of the recipes on the site they don't sound all that bad.

I'm getting excited because we are heading down to Long Beach for a few days on Labor Day. This is somewhere where Cory and I spent a lot of time growing up since we were only an hour and a half away from. So it will be fun to bring her out there and drive on the beach. Surprising that hasn't been outlawed in Washington yet. Our doctor gave us some good advice about her eating sand tho. His daughter had done this recently who is nine months old and it went right thru her. So when he was changing the diaper the sand was there and he had taken a wipe and it became like sand paper on her behind. Poor girl. So he advised us not to do that and just rinse off. It was actually quite comical when he was telling us the story. Something that I guess you wouldn't really think of either. Kids are going to eat the sand and it does have to come out so anyways we are really looking forward to bringing the family down there. Hopefully there will be some nice weather, although I prefer it stormy!

Six month check up

Alyssa is a perfectly healthy baby! She is 26.25inches, 18.11lbs and 17.25 HC. If anyone wants to find out what percent that is you can check it out on the calculator I have added to the website. The doctor couldn't believe at how laid back she was and calm about everything. Our doctor is wonderful he is so very laid back and helpful we really lucked out. She got four more shots and only cried for about 15 seconds or so on the last one and than was back to ripping up the paper on the table she was laying on or whatever you want to call them.

I thought that she was going to weigh a lot more than what she does but I am happy that she is not a huge baby despite her many chins!!!! Once we got her home, we went out to lunch afterwards and ran some errands, she ate and went straight to bed. She was getting pretty fussy since she hadn't had her morning nap. When she got up later she was still pretty fussy, I am chalking that up to getting those shots, and she ate and played with Cory for awhile and fell asleep laying in his arms. It was the most precious thing. Nothing melts my heart more than to see those two together.

Well 9 days until one of the most exciting days of the year! You might be asking what that is. It's Cougar kick off, and yes Lisa's birthday!!!!!! We'll see how well they will do on Saturday August 30th when they play Oklahoma State. They have a new coach so this will probably be a rebuilding year for them but it doesn't matter how many games they win or lose as long as they beat those stupid Dawgs it will be a successful year! GO COUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weekend in Longview

Well last Wednesday Alyssa, Harley and I all headed down to Longview for the weekend. We had a busy week planned. On Thursday I headed down to Vancouver/Portland with my Mother-in-law to attend the Phantom of the Opera with her and my sister-in-law, Amanda. We had a good time. It was my first time seeing the performance and it was fantastic despite the really hot weather. On Friday my mom had wrist surgery so I spent all day assisting her and hanging out with my dad. Alyssa was at her other grandmothers house and Harley was at day care. The rest of the weekend was more of helping my mom out and avoiding the almost unbearable heat down there.

Cory and two of his friends were down at Straddleline ORV Park riding and camping. They had a good time despite getting lost in the Olympic National Forest because they were unable to ride at the park because of the Off Road Championships that they were not aware of when the trip was originally planned. So off to the forest they went. After several hours of being lost and finally reconnecting at camp not all was lost because the ice cream lady dressed in pink with her pink jeep came by and the manly men got their ice cream and sat around reminiscing about their adventures of the day. There was so much more to this story but I won't bore everyone with all the details. I'm just glad that everyone was uninjured and eventually safe.

Sunday I headed home and all of us were glad to be back and be sleeping in our own beds. Especially Harley who has a hard time sleeping while away because he is so excited and doesn't want to miss out on anything and the awesome thunder and lighting storms that we were having down there it was great. Well all is back to normal for awhile anyhow. Alyssa has her six month appointment on Wednesday and we are getting ready for our next vacation on Labor Day.

Aquasox

Alyssa attended her first Everett Aquasox game on Thursday. It was a good time. We enjoy watching them and I hope she will to as she gets older. She was in pretty good spirits for most of the game. She did get a little fussy but after a quick nap she was good to go and was flirting with the young men behind us. We like attending these games so much better than the Mariner's because it's cheaper, closer to home, no big crowds, and the players seem to "want it" a little more. Not saying the other players don't but when your trying to get to the "show" it seems the players try a little harder than when you already have a multi-million dollar contract. Plus in the seventh inning hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza are all on sale for around $1. Now how can you beat that if you can wait that long to get one. I can't wait to take her to more of these games and the Everett Silvertips, hockey, this next season. I'm kind of excited because as we walked in the gates they were giving away baseballs to all the children, and we got one!!! We have finally arrived at that point that we qualify for the children's promotional items! Alyssa was very interested in the plastic wrapper it was in and when I took the ball out of it she was trying to grasp it but was having a hard time.

Mr. and Mrs. McKinney

What a busy week we had. Last Thursday, July 30, I took Alyssa down to Lacy and met her Grandma Simmons who was going to take her for the week. Let me tell you that was the hardest thing I had to do. At first I thought it was going to be a nice break but after a day or so I was ready for my little one to be back with her parents. The long drive back sucked because the Blue Angels were practicing, if you ever get a chance to see them it's a must! Last year I got to work in the "tower" so I was right there in the middle of it all and it was an amazing site. Anyhow Cory and I had some weddings to attend, a friends on Friday and than Saturday we were off to Gardnerville Nevada for my nephews wedding.

My nephew Jason married Melissa who was a beautiful bride. I couldn't be happier for the two of them. I know they will have a great life together. They have a gorgeous little boy, Jackson, who is 9 months old. I can't wait for Alyssa and Jack to get older and be able to play together.

The weather was awesome. They had a nice quick ceremony and than a great party at my sister's house. It's so bizarre to think of my little nephew being married and a father! I remember when he would come over in the summers and knock on my bedroom door to wake me up and run down the hall laughing. Anyone that knows Jason he has such a great laugh and to this day I can still here him and Nicole laughing as they were trying to wake me up. I am very proud and happy for him!

So after the wedding on Saturday Cory and I stayed down there for a few more days to enjoy a mini vacation. We enjoyed our time really just hanging out. On Monday we ended up going to Lake Tahoe to lay out on the beach and enjoy some rays. We went to this neat park called Camp Richardson. We laid out for about an hour or two and enjoyed the water. It was kind of comical so the beach isn't that packed and there is plenty of room around. We are laying out and there is a little room next to Nicole and the family next to us. When I say a little room for probably two people but that is with them invading your personal bubble. So this lady comes and puts a chair almost on top of Nicole puts her little umbrella up and starts spraying her sunscreen on herself as it was blowing onto Nicole and her book. I wish I would have been able to take pictures of this. The lady acted all surprised that it got Nicole and everything. I mean don't people know proper beach etiquette?!?! After this we ended up leaving and going to get lunch there at the beach and it was fabulous. They are known for their Rum Runner drinks. They are good but they could definitely sneak up on you. Later that night us girls went and saw Mama Mia which is a fantastic movie. Tuesday we headed home.

On Wednesday I headed to Longview to pick up Alyssa, but not before heading to the airport to pick up one of my closest friends for the last twelve years. Miranda! She hadn't got to meet Alyssa yet so she was very excited. It was great seeing her again. She's been living down in the LA area now for the last five or so years. I can't wait till Alyssa is old enough to go down there and we can go to Disneyland. Miranda bought Alyssa a Cabbage Patch doll which Alyssa actually enjoyed playing with or at least putting the hair in her mouth. I have a feeling it will be one of her favorite dolls she has.

Alyssa has been doing well. She is growing like a weed and enjoying her applesauce. I have started pureeing her food and made some broccoli so hopefully she likes it. It's know surprise that she likes the sweeter foods better but I am going to keep trying with the others. It's so easy to make your own food. I had people on both sides of it telling me what to do and obviously I did what I thought would be best. So the adventure in food making continues. I also bought Jessica Seinfelds cookbook, which is adding puree vegetables to common meals and you don't even realize it's there. Basically it's for children who don't eat their vegetables to get some. I have tried a couple of the recipes and they are great you really can't tell. Alyssa has her six month appointment coming up and I am very excited to see how much she has grown since her last one.